Ministry of SMEs and Startups Launches Probe into Price Linkage System for Plastic Container Suppliers

To support plastic container suppliers struggling with soaring international oil and raw material prices, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) is directly investigating the status of its supply contract price adjustment system. This process verifies whether increases in raw material costs are being properly reflected in supply payments, and is expected to foster a fairer trading environment within the industry.

The MSS announced on the 2nd that starting from the 1st of this month, it is inspecting 15 client companies in three sectors—food manufacturers, beverage manufacturers, and coffee franchises. The inspection covers the conclusion and implementation of price adjustment agreements, unfair supply price determinations, non-payment of supply prices, coercive practices regarding the refusal to link prices, and non-compliance with the supply price adjustment negotiation system. As of March 20th, the unit prices for naphtha and ethylene, key plastic raw materials, surged by 83.0% and 109.6% respectively, compared to the end of the previous month, reaching $1,171 and $1,425 per ton.

If unfair trading practices are identified during the investigation, the ministry plans to take measures such as issuing improvement requests, correction orders, and imposing penalty points in accordance with the Fair Transactions in the Supply Chain Act. The MSS also stated its intention to conduct additional ex officio investigations into other sectors where damage is feared due to ongoing raw material supply imbalances.